Pete Conrad

Pete Conrad

Charles Conrad Jr. was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer and aviator, test pilot. Conrad commanded the Apollo 12 space mission, on which he became the third person to walk on the Moon. Conrad also commanded Skylab 2, the first crewed Skylab mission, in 1973. He was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 for his work on the Skylab space station.

About Pete Conrad in brief

Summary Pete ConradCharles Conrad Jr. was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer and aviator, test pilot. Conrad commanded the Apollo 12 space mission, on which he became the third person to walk on the Moon. Conrad also commanded Skylab 2, the first crewed Skylab mission, in 1973. He died on July 8, 1999, from internal injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Conrad was considered a bright, intelligent boy, but he continually struggled with his schoolwork. He suffered from dyslexia, a condition little understood at the time. Conrad’s family lost their manor home in Philadelphia in 1942, and then moved into a small carriage house, paid for by Frances’s brother, Egerton Vinson. After he retired from NASA and the Navy in 1973, he became a vice president of American Television and Communications Company. He was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 for his work on the Skylab space station. He went on to work for McDonnell Douglas, as a vicepresident. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and their three children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Conrad is buried at Mount Sinai Cemetery in New York City, where he served as a member of the U.S. Air Force from 1947 to 1973. His son, Charles Conrad III, is a physician who served in the Air Force during the Iraq War. He served as the chairman of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIA), a trade group that promotes the study of aviation and space policy.

Conrad died in 1999, aged 80. He had been married to Barbara Conrad since 1968. He leaves behind a wife, Carol, and a daughter, Barbara Conrad, who served as his chief of staff in the Navy from 1987 to 1993. Conrad had a son, Peter, who was a physician and served as an Air Force Reserve officer from 1987 until his death in 1999. He also had a stepson, Richard W. W. Vinson, who died in a car accident in 1998. Conrad has a son and two stepdaughters, Charles and Barbara Conrad Jr., both of whom served as members of the United States Air Force. Conrad and his wife are survived by their three sons, Charles Jr. and Richard Vinson III, and two daughters, Barbara and Carol Conrad, Jr. The Conrad family was once a well-to-do real estate and banking family, but their fortune was wiped out by the Great Depression. Conrad served in World War II in the Merchant Marines. Conrad received a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Princeton University, being the first Ivy League astronaut. Conrad continued flying while he was not only keeping his pilot’s certificate, but also earning an instrument flight rating. In 1954 he received his naval aviator wings. In 1959 he was an astronaut candidate for Project Mercury. He set an eight-day space endurance record in 1965 along with his Command Pilot Gordon Cooper on his first spaceflight, Gemini 5. Later, Conrad commanded Gemini 11, and Apollo 12 in 1969.